Story+1988-05-05+Tacoma,+WA

´´Ready for a ride ?....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´Tunnel of Love´**

´´How the hell are you out there ? (cheers)....how´s things in Tacoma ? (cheers) Seattle ? Portland ? (cheers) man, last time I was up here I got sick as a dog....but I feel great tonight ....so´s spring get up here, huh ? getting any sun out there ? no ? (chuckles) you get all that rain up here....back east, you know, spring comes around, you get them sunny days, about 60 degrees, 65....all the girls leave their winter clothes home....you get the top down in the convertible a little bit....that´s when I like to go outside and take a walk in the park and see if any of my old friends are still around, you know...yo ! hey man !....hey, how you doing ? alright, good to see you, yeah, ok....how´ve you been ? (chuckles) what´ve you been doing ? I don´t see you so much, you know....yeah....I miss you (chuckles) what do you got ? oh, you´ve been married, oh, this is it, what do we got ? oh-oh, baby pictures of the little Big Man....he´s three years old....he´s got a little suit, he´s got a little saxophone....he´s got his own apartment already too....he´s moving, he´s got girlfriends and everything (chuckles) he looks good, he looks good....almost as handsome as his dad (chuckles) man, remember we used to sit on this bench in 1975 ?....you see, we used to sit on this bench here because there was this big office building down on the corner and 4.30 every day all the girls would get out of work and walk right down this street....so me and Clarence used to bring down like a, I had boloney and cheese, you had salami and two, two bottles of beer in a paper bag and we´d bring down some cards and we´d sit on this bench and wait for the girls to come out, you know....they used to come out right about this time....here they come now....check, uh ....check this one in the, in the blue dress, check (?)....(chuckles) man, I remember I was with you the night you met your wife....we were overseas and we were at this little party...and this girl comes in and Clarence puts his eye on her....and then he runs into the bathroom to make sure he´s looking real good, you know (chuckles) and he used to have that, uh....that like patchuli oil or something you used to put on yourself, remember ? (?) splash that on and then he´d come out and like I was standing right by him in this bar and he was like acting a whole lot nicer than he really is, you know (chuckles) try to get over, you know (chuckles) but it worked, it worked, it did (chuckles) you know....(?)....you know that feeling when they first come walking in the room, you get your eye on ´em ? yeah, like back in Jersey it feels like this, come on Ritchie, do it up, man....(?)....ah, sounds nice, you know....well....I´m gonna get going home, I think, you know....remember we used to stay out till four a.m ? remember all that stuff we used to do ?....gotta go now, I´ll see you later, you´re still carrying that thing around, huh ?...”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´All That Heaven Will Allow´**

´´How you doing out there, alright ? (cheers)....how´re you guys in the backseat ? (cheers) ....that´s good....there was a....there was this fella and this girl and they met in a little bar down along the coast....and he was a, he was a house painter, he was kind of young and little on the, uh, wild side, I guess, wasn´t saving no money (chuckles) you know, he was looking for, looking for some fun....and they met, uh, it was on the weekend and....and he was the kind of guy that, uh....well, she liked a lot of things about gim, he was sort of telling jokes all the time and real, real sweet-tempered....real sort of gentle....and she was looking for somebody to love her....and so they moved into a little garage apartment about two blocks in off the beach in the wintertime....and things went real well....and, uh, she got pregnant....and they were, they made plans to be married....he saved up his money for the first time in his life, went down and got her a ring....and she picked out a dress....and uh, then something happened, I guess maybe he was a little young....he got a little scared and he took off....but she never really let him go, she kept in her mind and she kept him in her heart....and she thought about him every day and every night....and the only problem was that he was never ever coming back....and there comes a time when old dreams like that, all that happens is the world gets a hold of ´em and breaks your heart with ´em every single day over and over again....because there comes a time when you gotta take the past and you gotta put it away ....so this is a song about a woman struggling to understand the value of her independent existence....and the value of the life of her child....trying to put her old dreams down and to find something new and beautiful and meaningful in her life now....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´Spare Parts´**

´´Here´s a song dedicated to, uh....that great American pastime....no, not that one.... I´m talking about the other one....shopping....do you get that Home Shopping Network up here ? ...you know, that thing where, uh....something´s only 69.95, then it´s down to 49.95, it´s down to 39.95, down to 19.95, if you phone in right now, they´ll send you a free set of steak-knives...that you will stab your husband with....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´You Can Look´**

´´Let me regain my composure, excuse me....is my hair alright ? my hair ok ?....is there anybody alive out there tonight ? (cheers)....is there anybody that can feel the living, breathing spirit in them out there tonight ? (cheers)....that´s good....because....what I want to know is....do we have any rough, tough Seattle or Portland men out there tonight ? (cheers) ....I ain´t talking about you Northwest nature boys, do we have any macho men out there tonight ? (cheers)...because I’ve known men that would swim rivers....they´d climb mountains....they´d wrestle with the beasts of the jungle....but there was one thing they was afraid of....one thing scared them to death.....you wanna know what that one thing ?....I´m talking about L-U-V, I’m talking about love, love scared them to death....big He-men....now what I wanna know is do we have any brave, courageous Northwest women out there tonight ? (cheers) do we have any rough, tough Seattle, Portland, Tacoma sexy girls out there tonight ? (cheers)....because I’m talking to you too, girls....I’ve known women that could jump out of an airplane at 30,000 feet.....but there was something that they was afraid of....they were afraid of love....when they got near love, when they started to feel love in their hearts, they ran home to their mommies just like little babies....now I’m down here tonight because I´ve got a confession that I´ve got to make....and what I wanna tell you people is that I have sinned !....and I ain´t ashamed and I don´t need no Jimmy Swaggert, no Jim Baker, no Pat Robertson to forgive me....them boys can kiss my ass, baby....and that Jerry Falwell, he can kiss my ass twice....both cheeks....because I ain´t afraid of man-made things.... hell no !.... I´m a brave man....but what I´ve got to confess to is....that I’m a coward.....when it comes to love....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´I´m a Coward´**

´´Now there´s those that believe we came from Adam and Eve....and there´s those that, uh.... well, let me tell you this story....it´s true....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´Part Man Part Monkey´**

´´Sometimes....I get feeling so lonely....so lonely that I just wanna hide away....I don´t wanna see the sunshine....I just wanna see the rain....(?) and hide these tears in my eyes....and that´s when I know that I gotta reach out....to somebody who can remind me that I´m still....a young man, baby....that´s when I need a partner....I just wanna say hey come on, baby....´´
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, end of ´Dancing in the Dark´**

´´Thank you, thanks....this, uh....this is a song I wrote about 15 years ago....and uh....I was sitting at the end of my bed in Long Branch, New Jersey....and uh, I guess I´ve sung it at about every, every show we´ve done since then....and I think back now and it surprises me how much I knew about the things that I wanted when I was that young....because, uh, the questions that I asked myself in this song, I´ve been chasing down the answers to ever since ....and when I wrote it, I gues I thought I was writing about a guy and a girl that wanted to get in the car and keep running and never come back....well, it was a nice romantic idea.... but as I got older I realised I´d put all these people in these cars and I was gonna have to think of some place for ´em to go....and, uh, as I sang this song through the years, I realised that that guy and that girl, what they were really doing is they were out there searching for connection....which is, uh, I guess what I´m doing here tonight....you know....and that individual freedom in and of itself without connection to some friends and some family or some sort of a community ends up feeling pretty meaningless and empty....so....what they were doing is they were out there taking their chances, trying to find a place that they could call ´home´....and as I got older, I realised that home wasn´t out there but it was buried inside of me someplace....and if you are brave enough....you may be able, I guess, to, to get a little piece of it and hold on to it....but....anyway, this song´s kept me good company on my search, I hope it´s kept you good company on yours....so I´d like to sing it for you tonight and dedicate it to you wishing you home and happiness....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´Born to Run´**

´´Now this is where we clear up the questions of the evening....does the hero get the girl ?.... does her mama come down and stop ´em ?....does her daddy wring his neck ?.... does he end up broke, busted and disgusted ?...the answer to these and other mysteries will now be revealed....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´Rosalita´**

´´You don´t think I came all the way from New Jersey to stop now, do you ?....(?)....we came all the way from New Jersey, baby....because we are men and women with a mission in mind ....and let me tell you....we ain´t traveling thousands of miles in some fancy rock star airplane either....we had two station wagons, we took turns driving, we drove for two weeks to, to, uh ....alright, we did come in one of them fancy rock star airplanes....but we thought about driving....and anyway....and anyway....we came because I wanna know is there anybody out there tonight that needs a little love ? do you need a little affection ? do you need a little personal attention ? (cheers) because I´m here to say that my motto is....have love, will travel ....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´Have Love Will Travel´**

´´I know what you´re thinking, you´re thinking that this is right where I might be getting a little bit tired....you´re thinking that this is right where I´d be thinking about going home and catching them Kojak-reruns, right ?....well, you´re talking to the wrong man, baby....you are talking to the wrong man....because I´m here to burn this thing down....and I´ve got something....that I need to know....you ain´t feeling a little tired, are you ? (crowd : ´No´) are you sure ? (cheers) can you take it ? (cheers) are you ready for the tough stuff ? (cheers) then I got a question that I wanna ask you....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´Sweet Soul Music´**

´´It´s almost midnight, come on....are you trying to tell me something ? (cheers) well, I´ve been working my ass off for three hours, you better talk to me louder than that, baby ! (cheers) are you talking to me ? (cheers) are you talking to me ? (cheers) are you talking to me ? (cheers) then are you ready for a little religious liberation ? (cheers) are you ready for a little spiritual affirmation ? (cheers) are you ready for a little sexual consummation ? (cheers) then just raise your hand one time.....”
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, intro to ´Raise Your Hand´**

´´On the piano, Professor Roy Bittan.....on the drums, the Mighty Max Weinberg....on the guitar and vocals, Miss Patti Scialfa....on the guitar, the great Nils Lofgren.....on the bass, Mr.Garry W.Tallent....on the organ, Phantom Dan Federici....and in the back we got Eddie ´Kingfish´ Manion, Richie La Bamba, Mark ´The Love Man´, Mike and Mario Cruz, the Tunnel of Love horns....and last but not least.....what can I say about this next gentleman that has graced us with his presence tonight ?....the only thing I can say is....the greatest man in the history of Western civilization....and the handsomest man this town has ever seen.... Clarence ´Big Man´ Clemons on the saxophone....´´
 * 05.05.88 Tacoma, WA, middle of ´Light of Day´**

//Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi//